I'm too angry to get mad

[ClaytonB]

Brawling. It's one of the most primitive urges, particularly in the male psyche...

And when you've been pushed too far, there is some kind of boiler within that just goes to a million-psi... either the vessel will rupture or somebody is going to catch hell with a fist to the face.

But you know what? I have discovered -- in part due to recent events -- that there is an anger beyond brawling. There is a pressure beyond that million-psi, an anger so deep that it is no longer hot, it is colder than the 9th ring of hell. There are people for whom a simple knockout would be too kind; even death is above their dignity. No, there really are among us reprobates for whom no punishment can be named that is too extreme.

And you know what the worst of those reprobates desperately want you to do? They want you to get mad...

They want you to do something about it...

But I have a better solution. Don't get mad. Get angry. Get so angry, that you're too angry to get mad. Ice-cold anger that comes from righteous wrath. Righteous wrath of this magnitude cannot be sustained by mere self-righteousness and moral indignation. No, you need a firmer foundation than that. The proper foundation for anger at the wicked is salvation in Jesus. Our ultimate enemy is not our neighbor... not even the brainwashed psychopaths in the three-letter agencies, or their Bug-Eating bosses flying around in private jets. No, our enemy is spiritual. And as long as we're rumbling in the street, he'll go on winning as he has for thousands of years.

I'm too angry to get mad. I'm angry in a way that cannot even be expressed in words. There is no verbal description for the wrath in my breast except that it is lit by the flame of the very wrath of God itself. I want Judgment Day. I want the wicked to be struck down once for all. I want the heavens to split open and for the Son of God to appear in blazing fury to bring judgment upon the damned, and to hurl them into the unquenchable flames of hell, where they will be witnessed burning forever and ever (Rev. 14:9-11), while we praise God.

Physical fire is too weak a cure for this evil. Death too gentle a fate for these criminals. The only just punishment for what they have done -- and I know what they have really done -- is the undying worm and the unquenchable flames of hell.

I'm too angry to get mad. I'm so angry that I'm going to praise God instead...

Psalm 35
Of David.

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
Take up shield and armor;
Arise and come to my aid.
Brandish spear and javelin
Against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.”

May those who seek my life
Be disgraced and put to shame;
May those who plot my ruin
Be turned back in dismay.
May they be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them away;
May their path be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

Since they hid their net for me without cause
And without cause dug a pit for me,
May ruin overtake them by surprise—
May the net they hid entangle them,
May they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord
And delight in his salvation.
My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you, Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
The poor and needy from those who rob them.”

Ruthless witnesses come forward;
They question me on things I know nothing about.
They repay me evil for good
And leave me like one bereaved.
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
And humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
I went about mourning
As though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
As though weeping for my mother.
But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
Assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;
They gnashed their teeth at me.

How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
My precious life from these lions.
I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
Among the throngs I will praise you.
Do not let those gloat over me
Who are my enemies without cause;
Do not let those who hate me without reason
Maliciously wink the eye.
They do not speak peaceably,
But devise false accusations
Against those who live quietly in the land.
They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it.”

Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
Do not let them gloat over me.
Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
Or say, “We have swallowed him up.”

May all who gloat over my distress
Be put to shame and confusion;
May all who exalt themselves over me
Be clothed with shame and disgrace.
May those who delight in my vindication
Shout for joy and gladness;
May they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
Who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
Your praises all day long.

 

[osan]

Psalm 22

They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws.
And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

 

[donnay]

Psalm 22

They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws.
And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

One thousand years later Jesus spoke these words on the cross to fulfill prophecy.